Water craft and motorized water craft for a variety of purposes have long been known. These craft have different shapes and are of different weights, depending upon the use of the craft. The traditional hull shape is the displacement hull, which is supported by buoyancy. However, due to the large surface area in contact with the water, the speed of such craft is limited.
In an effort to overcome the disadvantages of the displacement hull, the planing hull was developed which lifts most of the hull out of the water during travel. Ships with this sort of hull travel very rapidly in smooth water. But in waves, these ships are subject to pounding or slamming, so must be driven at lower speeds. One method for improving performance of the planing hull is the deep-V design, which cuts through the waves to reduce pounding.
To date, the intended use of the ship has determined both its weight and its hull shape. Thus, racing boats are generally as light weight as possible, in order to improve the ship's speed, and include a deep-V hull in an attempt to reduce pounding. On the other hand, patrol boats and other ships, which are subject to slamming on rough seas, are built with relatively thick protective walls and are, therefore, much heavier, and are traditionally made with a flatter semi-displacement hull which is very fast in quiet waters but which tends to slam in rough seas.
Furthermore, patrol boats and other relatively heavy boats are generally propeller driven. The conventional drive system includes high speed, fast engines which have a high power/weight ratio. There are known racing boats with water jet propulsion systems, but such systems are relatively new and more expensive than traditional propeller propulsion systems, as well as being less efficient in fuel consumption at certain speeds.
At present, high speed on rough seas has been achieved by hydrofoils of certain design and some hovercraft. However, the price of manufacturing and maintaining these craft is very high.
The internal layout of conventional patrol craft was designed with speed of movement from the closed bridge to the open bridge in mind. Thus, the open bridge A is located only one half flight up from the closed bridge B and aft thereof, as shown in FIG. 7, which illustrates a prior art ship. This leads to a number of disadvantages. First, the area C underneath the open bridge is essentially wasted space, and is used for storage. Second, in order to see over the closed bridge and the bow, the open bridge must be placed as far forward as possible. Thus, the closed bridge B is generally contracted to as small an area as possible. Furthermore, the stairway D from below comes up directly into the closed bridge, which is inconvenient and problematic during an emergency.